The invention relates to a planting machine having a driven planting mechanism as well as a seed hopper provided with outlet openings, in which a driven stirring mechanism is disposed above the outlet openings.
In planting machines of this kind it has long been found disadvantageous that the disinfection or dusting of the seed against pests of all kinds, which is necessary before planting it, must be performed in a separate and time-consuming operation. German "Offenlegungsschrift" No. 2,036,760 has disclosed a planting machine of the above described type of construction in which an attempt is made to remedy this inconvenience by disposing in the hopper of the machine, above the stirring mechanism, a mixing system which is equipped with elongated projecting members and is driven during the planting operation. This system, however, has the disadvantage that, in the first filling of the hopper, previously disinfected or dusted seed must still be loaded into it, because the action of the mixing system does not reach the bottom part of the seed hopper. Furthermore, when the hopper is refilled, the required amount of the disinfectant must be sprinkled and uniformly distributed over a relatively thin layer of seed so as to enable the mixing system to act upon and thoroughly mix the seed and disinfectant. This procedure, however, appreciably delays the refilling operation. Finally, it is disadvantageous that care must be taken when using the machine to see that the level of the seed in the hopper does not drop below the mixing system, and consequently substantially more frequent stopping for refilling is required than would be the case if the hopper could be at least approximately emptied each time.